1. But wherefore do not you
a mightier way
2. Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time?
3. And fortify your self in your decay
4. With means more blessed than my barren rhyme?
5. Now stand you on the top of happy hours,
6. And many maiden gardens, yet unset,
7. With virtuous wish would bear you living flowers,
8. Much liker than your painted counterfeit:
9. So should the lines of life that life repair,
10. Which this, Time's pencil, or my pupil pen,
11. Neither in inward worth nor outward fair,
12. Can make you live your self in eyes of men.
13. To give away yourself, keeps yourself still,
14. And you must live, drawn by your own sweet skill.

This seems
to take its cue from the preceding
sonnet, and the two together are in the form of a continuous
meditation.
Here the poet takes a step backwards from the declaration of promised
immortality,
for he has second thoughts and his verse (his pupil pen)
is found
to be inadequate to represent the young man as he really is, or to give
a true account of his inner and outer beauty. Therefore the boy is
urged
once more to give himself away, in marriage, and thus to recreate
himself.

Lines 9-12 present
difficulties of meaning which
probably can never be fully resolved. See the commentary below.

THE 1609
QUARTO VERSION

16

B

Vt wherefore do
not you a mightier
waie
Make warre vppon this bloudie tirant time?

And
fortifie your ſelfe in
your decay
With meanes more bleſſed then my barren rime?
Now ſtand you on the top of happie houres,
And many maiden gardens yet vnſet,
With vertuous wiſh would beare your liuing flowers,
Much liker then your painted counterfeit:
So ſhould the lines of life that life repaire
Which this (Times penſel or my pupill pen )
Neither in inward worth nor outward faire
Can make you liue your ſelfe in eies of men,
To giue away your ſelfe,keeps your ſelfe ſtill,
And you muſt liue drawne by your owne ſweet ſkill,

1. But wherefore do not you a mightier
way

1.
a mightier way = a way that is more
efficacious than my idea of 'engrafting you new', in verse, as I even
but
now suggested. The way proposed (of warring against Time) is elaborated
in what follows, 5-14. might suggests the use of
military might,
given further emphasis byn the continuing use of military metaphors in
the
next two lines.

2. Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time?

2. bloody
= bloodthirsty, creating bloodbaths,
brutish, destructive. Tyrants were often cruel and bloody, especially
those
recorded in histories of the ancient world.

3. And fortify your self in your decay

3. The
imagery of warfare is continued with
the idea of building fortifications. in
your decay =
as you grow old

4.
With means more blessed than my barren rhyme?

4. means
more blessed = methods which
will be potentially more successful, more fruitful than my
barren rhyme,
(which does not produce an actual you to replace the
you who is subject
to grievous mortality).

5. Now stand you on the top of happy
hours,

5. You
have reached the pinnacle of your perfection.
happy is used both in its modern sense, and
with the meaning of lucky,
successful.

6. And many maiden gardens, yet unset,

6. The
imagery is drawn from horticulture. The
maiden gardens not yet planted or sown with flowers are unmarried girls
who are potential mates for the young man. Evidently a sexual meaning
is
intended here also. unset = with no seeds or plants put in them.

7.
With virtuous wish would bear
you living flowers,

7. With
virtuous wish merely emphasises
the desirability of the virtuous maidens. In addition to being
unstained
virgins, it is as if they seek only his good, not their own, they wish
virtuously
to bear his children. Women were expected to play a subservient role to
men. But there may also be a hidden reference to the Virgin Mary who
bore
the flower of Christ in her womb. would bear you living flowers = would bear
children for you.

8. Much liker than your painted
counterfeit:

8. Much
liker = much more like you; than your painted counterfeit = than is a
painted image of you. A
painting could be seen as a counterfeit of the real thing. Painting
also
refers to 'painting in verse', as proposed in the previous sonnet. For counterfeit
as 'painting, image, see OED(n).3., and compare: What find I here? Fair Portias counterfeit. MV.V.3.2.115.

9.
So should the lines of life that
life repair,

9. the
lines of life - many interpretations
are given of this. It is thought to refer mainly to life's
continuation,
hence lineage, descent, descendants, children. that life refers to the young man's life; repair - with the added sense of replacement
and renewal, as in 3.3
and 10.8. Hence we paraphrase as 'in that way your children would
replace
you (as you grow older and became due for repair)'.

10.
Which this, Time's pencil, or my
pupil pen,

10. More
difficulties arise here. The main problem
is that of deciding the referent of this. Does it
mean 'this verse,
this sonnet, which is currently describing you'? In which case Time's
pencil and my pupil pen are a further
adumbration of it (this
sonnet) and qualify its scope. A pencil was a painter's brush, such as
was
used in painting miniatures. Therefore the line seems to imply that the
descriptive power of verse in depicting or painting the young man is
achieved
by Time itself painting him, or by my (the poet's) amateur pen
describing
him. This hardly seems possible because Time's pencil is
not responsible
for the sonnet - it is the poet's creation. this
could therefore
refer to the twofold possibility, the two alternatives to repairing
one's
hasting life, (time's pencil, my pupil pen) and this
is equivalent
to these in modern English. In which case the
over-arching meaning
of 9-10 would be 'Thus would your children replace you as you grew old,
whereas the two other alternatives, Time depicting you in the stature
which
today you have reached, or me with my inadequate pen attempting to
describe
you, (would not suffice because etc.)'. Q's punctuation seems to
support
this latter meaning. GBE prefers Which this time's pencil or
my pupil
pen, glossing this time's pencil as the
contemporary style of
painting. (GBE. p.129) and rejecting the usual assumption that this is
the
same Time as is referred to in line 2, where he is
a bloody tyrant,
rather than a painter. Thus he avoids giving Time a split personality.
An
appealing solution to the problem, which may finally be impossible to
resolve.
But perhaps we should not insist on perfect consistency when dealing
with
poems of this nature. As Walt Whitman said: 'Do I contradict myself?
Well
then I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes.'

12. Can
reproduce you as you truly are to external
observers (eyes of men). That is, (lines 9-12), the
above methods
fail to produce the desired results, for they make only a pale copy of
you,
without the essentials.

13.
To give away yourself, keeps yourself
still,

13. To
give away yourself - as in marriage.
An echo of the marriage service, 'Do you give this woman etc.?' still = forever. By giving of yourself you
will be preserved against
time's decay. There is also the sexual meaning of giving semen, which
creates
another you. The male seed was thought to be the essential substance
necessary
for the creation of a new life. GBE quotes Donne's poem The
Canonisation'
GBE, NCS Son. p.129 n.13.

14. And you must live, drawn by your own
sweet skill.

14. And
consequently you will go on living (must
live), and you yourself will be the artist who draws the
portrait of
yourself.